Blue Birds of Happiness #1

Many years ago I did a sporadic series on colours in nature. I have no intention of reprinting those now, but I'm assuming that even if you were reading this blog way back then (and I know some of you were) you won't remember much about it. Moreover I've got lots of photos that I didn't have then that might be of interest. Basically though it feels like a time when simple immersion in and appreciation of nature seems like a good thing to be doing. Hence for the next couple of posts at least we'll be wallowing in blue birds - or at least birds which flaunt some blue. 

Hyacinth Macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus, south Pantanal, Brazil.
In the sun this huge bird is almost as blue as is imaingable!

Why blue? The glib answer is 'why not?', and perhaps looking at the photo above that's enough. In 2015 however YouGov, a British market research company, polled residents of 10 countries on four continents (including Australia) and in each case reported that blue was comfortably the favourite colour of the populace. What that might mean is a subject for another day (and another place than here!) but it's as good a basis as any to start with. Blue is also on of the most strikingly conspicuous colours; birds wear it to be seen.

An oft-repeated assertion I came across when doing some refresher reading for this post is that blue is rare in nature. It isn't, even apart from the sky and ocean, but it's certainly not as ubiquitous as other colours such as green. And remarkably, among land-dwelling animals it seems increasingly likely that only a few butterfly species can actually manufacture blue pigments. All other animals, including all vertebrates, which make themselves look blue do so by playing sophisticated tricks with physics. We see blue (or red or yellow etc) because light of the wavelength we call blue (or red or yellow) is reflected from the surface we're looking at. If it looks blue it's because all other wavelengths are absorbed by it. 

Azure Kingfisher Ceyx azureus, Barmah, Murray River, Victoria.
The rusty flanks really are that colour, based on various melanins.
The blue feathers however have no actual colouration. Instead they have minute 'bubbles'
(probably about one thousandth the diameter of a hair) which allow longer wavelengths,
such as reds and yellows, to pass through and not escape again. However they are just the right
size to reflect blue light, and only blue light, to bounce back into our eyes.

The principal is known as Tyndall scattering after 19th century Irish-born British physicist John Tyndall who described it; the effect is often seen with very fine particles suspended in liquid, such as silt in rushing streams or the iris of a blue eye.

Salto Grande, Torres del Paine NP, Chilean Patagonia.
The wonderfully blue streams and lakes here are due to Tyndall scattering
of tiny rock particles ground to flour by glaciers.
Similar sized particles (though not of rock!) float in liquid to make my eyes look blue.
I know it seems a long stretch to equate this to the kingfisher's plumage,
but then again Physics was the low point of my university career.

Time to just let the birds show off I think, but one brief observation first. It's unclear to me why the range of feather shades to follow, from almost black to bright pale sky colour, can all be lumped as 'blue'. Maybe I need to consult an artist.

It seems to me that two Orders of birds have specialised in being blue more than any others - and we've already met them both above. One of course is the parrots, the other a less obviously uniform group, the Order Coraciiformes, which includes kingfishers, rollers, bee-eaters, the motmots of tropical South and Central America, and the tiny Caribbean todies. Their focus on blue is such that I'm going to devote the rest of this blog to them, and next time introduce a selection of  'all the rest'. 

Some of them, like the Hyacinth Macaw and the Azure Kingfisher above, are  mostly blue, while others use their 'blue bubbles' more selectively, preferring subtle splashes or highlights of blue. It seems to me that parrots are more likely to feature blue accents or hints, while the coraciids, especially the kingfishers, are more likely to go all out, but there are no rules about this. I'm going to start with some where blue is the main colour, and work towards some more subtle wearers of it. Prepare for an initial kingfisher blue tsunami! And don't forget to note the ranges of blues being worn; I wish I had names for them all, but you may be more successful in labelling them. (And while I didn't plan it, the first four pictures represent four continents.)

Amazon Kingfishers Chloroceryle amazona live along streams in most of
South America and in North America as far as southern Mexico.

Blue-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon malimbica, Budongo Forest Uganda.
Not always easy to see in shady tropical African forests.

Blue-eared Kingfisher Alcedo meninting, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
Another dweller of shady tropical forests, but this one is a dedicated fisher.

Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher Tanysiptera sylvia, Julatten, north Queensland.
Bluer than it looks here, in rainforest shadow.  A stunning bird which alone
makes it worth going to Queensland in the unfashionable summer wet season,
when it comes south from New Guinea to breed.

Collared Kingfisher Todiramphus chloris, Selingan Island, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
This mangrove specialist is found across southern Asia; the Australian birds formerly
included in this species are now known as Torresian Kingfisher Todiramphus sordidus.

Forest Kingfisher Todiramphus macleayii, Darwin, Northern Territory.
This little non-fishing kingfisher is one of the bluest birds I know.

Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus, Namadgi NP near Canberra.
A lovely and common annual breeding migrant to southern Australia, this one
was high in the mountains recently, more so than I'd expect.
(The species was apparently regarded as sacred in some Pacific islands.)

Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis, Sepilok, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
One of the most impressive kingfishers there is! Maybe I should do a post one day
on red bills. Found sparsely in India and south-east Asia.

Andean Motmot Momotus aequatorialis, near Machu Picchu, southern Peru.
Motmots form another small family in the Coraciiformes and most
show at least some blue. They wave their tail from side to side, seemingly
to signal to a potential predator that they've been spotted - hence in Spanish
El Reloj, the clock, like a pendulum.

Blue and Yellow Macaws Ara ararauna, northern Pantanal, Brazil.
This is an excellent example of contrasting blue with another colour for maximum visibility.

Blue wings and/or tails are good too. They are very visible in flight, but also when perched, from side-on or behind. The Australian rosellas, a group of large familiar parrots, opt for this.

Pale-headed Rosella Platycercus adscitus, near Georgetown, central north Queensland.
A bird of mostly drier north-eastern Australia.

Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans on our Canberra balcony.
A very familiar bird indeed in the south-east, including commonly in town.
A reminder; if you took a couple of feathers (with permission of course!) and soaked them
in a solvent, the red would come out but the blue would be unaffected. If you were to
crush the feathers with a hammer, the red would still be red, but the blue would turn
to a dirty white, as the bubbles burst.

Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius, Canberra.
A woodland rosella which, unusually, lives alongside Crimson Rosellas in Canberra,
where we have created habitats that suit both. Truly a very lovely bird indeed.

Grey-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala, Queen Elizabeth NP, Uganda.
A pretty but relatively understated kingfisher found across much of Africa.

Blue-winged Kookaburra Dacelo leachii, Darwin.
This is female - the male has a bright blue tail as well, presumably the
better to show off with.

Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudatus Tarangire NP Tanzania.
The rollers are another family of coraciids, represented in Australia by the
Dollarbird. They are all attractive but few can match this beauty; the different shades
of blue on the wings/tail and back is a nice touch. It is the
national bird of Kenya, but is found across much of eastern and southern Africa.

Even a little splash of blue in the wings is worthwhile it seems. 

Blaze-winged Parakeet Pyrrhura devillei, southern Pantanal.
This pretty little parrot is only found in the Pantanal and its immediate surrounds.

 Blue heads are good for front-on recognition.

Blue-headed Parrots Pionus menstruus, Blanquillo clay like, Amazonian Peru.
This small parrot is found throughout the Amazon basin.

Red-collared Lorikeet Trichoglossus rubritorquis, Darwin.
This raucous lorikeet replaces the more widespread Rainbow Lorikeet
in north-western tropical woodlands. (More on lorikeets here.)

I wouldn't normally show you a picture as ordinary as this, but it's a very special bird indeed, which I feel privileged to have seen. And it's a very blue head! The ground rollers form a small family of coraciids, which are endemic to Madagascar.

 

Pitta-like Ground Roller Atelornis pittoides, Ranomafana NP, Madagascar.
Unfortunately this is as much of itself as it was prepared to show.

But even a small daub of blue on or around the head is of value too apparently.

Blue-naped Parrot Tanygnathus lucionensis Tg Aru Beach, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,
Malaysian Borneo. A chunky parrot with blue nape and back. This population has
apparently been introduced from the nearby Philippines.

Turquoise-fronted Amazon Amazona aestiva, Emas NP, south-western Brazil.
A locally common parrot of the open plains. A very blue forehead!

Double-eyed Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta diophthalma Cairns Foreshore.
At 14cm this is Australia's smallest parrot (it is also found in New Guinea and
associated islands). I love the juxtaposition of sky blue forehead with the brilliant red,
plus the touch of darker blue on the cheek.

And what about these eyebrows!

Little Bee-eaters Merops pusillus, Amboseli NP, Kenya.

A little splash of blue on the rump is a bold statement too (well, maybe but it clearly has a purpose).

Striped Kingfisher Halcyon chelicuti Lake Nakuru Kenya.
This demurely clad little kingfisher (apart from the rump of course)
occurs throughout most of wooded Africa.

Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus, Fraser Island, Queensland.
Despite the name this sole Australian bee-eater isn't as rainbow-coloured as
some other species. It is beautiful though, especially that opalescent rump.
However it's worth a view of another aspect.

Rainbow Bee-eater, Darwin. Love that glorious pale blue strip below the black eye-line,
and the other below the black throat stripe, possessed by only about 30% of males.
Exquisite. The long tail streamers, which get increasingly tatty as the season progresses,
also reveal this as a male.

And a few species specialise in a blue throat.

Blue-throated Bee-eater Merops viridis, Bako NP, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
Unfortunately I couldn't get any closer and the spectacular contrasting red crown
isn't really visible.

It seems odd, given our professed liking for blue, that we also use it in English to mean depressed. I trust that this post can have had the opposite effect on you - it's lifted me. I'm looking forward to meeting some more blue birds next time, and I hope you are too.

Next post in this series here.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY.
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